Already Standing on the Ground
by savvyliterate
Summary: And then there was the time an eagle's nest nearly drew Stars Hollow to a complete halt. As Taylor loved to remind him, it was all Luke's fault. (LL, pre-AYITL)


_**Author's Note:** __As those who follow me on Twitter saw a few days ago, I retweeted a story about a town in Connecticut that decided to ban its Fourth of July fireworks in the interest of protecting a baby eagle that had taken up residence near the town's lake. It literally was the most Stars Hollow thing I'd ever read, so of course it had to be turned into a story. This is for JumpingCattleHockey, Meags09, and nojamhands, who all ridiculously encouraged the writing of this and supplied plenty of inspiration._

* * *

 _"Already Standing on the Ground"_

 _June 2015_

It wasn't often that Luke got a chance to take an actual break between breakfast and lunch rushes. Usually he was putting out some fire or another or running errands. But the morning was slow, the day was unusually cool for mid-June, so he left Cesar and the new summer help behind to watch over the diner and went on a walk.

Yeah, he was truly baffled by his own actions.

But damn it, he had Lorelai buzzing in his ear about actually taking the time to enjoy his surroundings and it would do wonders for his stress levels. His stress levels were just fine, thank you very much. If he needed a break, there was fishing and woodwork and keeping the Crap Shack from falling to pieces around them and coaxing Lorelai into a stolen few minutes in whatever vacant room they could find. Half the time, she was the one dragging him off to do _that_. Not that he didn't mind. He had a pulse, after all.

But the walking wasn't bad. He liked walking. Long walks got him through the worst times of his life: his dad's death, Rachel leaving, the marriage fiasco with Nicole, and 2006. It wasn't that hot, and there was no insane festival going on. Even Taylor wasn't around, which lifted his own mood considerably. A day with no Taylor was always a glorious day.

Luke found himself wandering toward the lake and the bridge that spanned it. Kids out of school for the summer were playing near the water's edge, and the murder swans were leaving them alone for the most part. He crossed the bridge and thought about taking the back road through the woods up to the Dragonfly. Hell, maybe he would actually have lunch with Lorelai there instead of waiting for her to come to the diner. He grinned, thinking of her reaction. Yeah, he was in a damn good mood.

He wasn't sure what caused him to look up into the trees. For the first time in decades, bald eagles had been seen in the area, and there was some talk of them building a nest. Maybe it was the little boy still nestled somewhere inside him, but he liked eagles. He didn't see enough of them, not even at the cabin. The animal had been endangered when he was a kid, but thankfully enough people got it through their skulls that it wasn't a good idea to kill off the country's national symbol. The bird was no longer endangered, but still pretty rare in Stars Hollow.

Luke drew to a stop on the path, shielding his eyes from the sun as he squinted into the trees. There was something up there, maybe 100 feet off the ground? Frowning, he fished through his pockets and found the smartphone he'd been saddled with after his perfectly good flip phone disappeared. Oh, he knew good and well that the culprits went by the code names Gilmore, Mariano, and Nardini. When those three got it in their heads to team up, it was best to simply duck.

Rory, bless her, had at least sent a text of genuine remorse before asking him if his old phone was eligible to be submitted to the Smithsonian.

But there was one good thing the damn phone was for, and that was the zoom lens on the camera. Luke launched the app and did that weird reverse pinch to zoom in on the dark spot in the trees. It was a bit fuzzy, but he could see movement up there. He took a couple photos, then switched to the messaging app and pulled up the running conversation he had with April.

 _I think this is a bald eagle's nest_ , he typed and attached the photo. He was grateful that April, Rory, and Jess all used proper English in their texting. Lorelai just _had_ to use that shorthand texting lingo that drove him up the wall, and she was addicted to emoji. While it took him ages to decipher April's emails because of the science lingo, it sometimes took him just as long to puzzle out if Lorelai was asking him if he wanted pizza for dinner or was doing some bizarre propositioning involving the hood of his truck.

Luke tucked the phone away and had started down the path once more when he noticed movement in the trees. Slowing, he saw a bald eagle swoop through the trees before landing atop the cluster among the branches. Before he realized what he was doing, he had the phone back out and the camera app open once more.

He had a better angle this time and was about to take the photo when the phone vibrated and a notification popped up over the screen. _WHAT?_ April had texted back in all caps.

He grunted, swiped it away, and refocused.

Another one popped in. _WHERE IS IT? Is it over by the lake? That's where Gypsy said the eagles were. OMG, I can't believe they built a nest! Can you send me another photo?_

"If you would stop long enough for me to take the damn picture," Luke muttered and flicked the notification away again. He took several more photos, sent them to April, and continued down the path to the Dragonfly.

* * *

When Luke got to the inn, he was met at the door by Lorelai, who had gotten several texts from April. She fished his phone out of his pocket, ignoring the fact she was practically molesting him in the front lobby of her inn. Granted, their audience was Michel, who was studiously doing his best to ignore them.

Lorelai pulled up the photo and zoomed in on the nest as she walked back to the front desk, where Michel was clicking through upcoming reservations on the computer.

"Look at the baby!" Lorelai cooed.

"It's a blob," Luke replied.

"It's totally a baby," she insisted.

He squinted over her shoulder at the photo on the phone. "Blob-ish to me."

"You told April there was a nest up there, so that has to be a baby. Look, Michel, is this a baby?" Lorelai tugged Michel's sleeve until he was forced to look at the phone.

"It looks like an out-of-focus image taken with a digital zoom lens by an amateur with a tendency to have shaky hands," Michel sniffed.

Luke just glared at him.

"It's a baby," Lorelai pronounced as Sookie wandered from the dining room, wiping her hands on a towel. Lorelai handed the phone to her. "Look what Luke found! I think it's a baby eagle."

"Aww, look at the little thing! It's totally an eaglet!" Sookie cooed. "There's the little head, oh and there's the little beak!" She tapped at the phone so hard that it slipped from her fingers and landed face-down on the ground. "Oops. Sorry, Luke." She quickly scooped it up, and not for the first time, he was grateful for the case Jess advised him to get.

Michel craned his neck to peer at the phone once more. "I don't see how any of you can tell what that thing is."

"That's what you said when I brought in my sonogram before my youngest was born," Sookie said and handed the phone back to Luke. "Besides, why would an eagle be going to a nest if not to care for its young?"

"Maybe it's on vacation," Michel said dryly. "Stars Hollow is the avian version of the Hamptons."

"Huh," Sookie said. "Maybe that's why we get so many bird watchers."

As they debated it, Lorelai quickly snagged a key from the board and beckoned to Luke. "C'mon," she murmured.

"What're we doing?" he asked, already knowing the answer as he followed her to the stairs. Or hoping he knew the answer. But he knew that wicked gleam in Lorelai's eyes well, and his heart was already racing in a way that had nothing to do with the exercise he'd just gotten on the walk from town.

"Having lunch." She gave him a suggestive smile to match those eyes, and he knew at that moment, he was the luckiest man in the world. "I've decided you're the menu."

Luke was perfectly fine with that.

* * *

Man, he was in a good mood.

Luke was nearly tempted to whistle like some Disney character as he headed back to the diner. He lingered a bit near the tree with the nest, taking a few better photos and sending them onto April. He'd check in on the diner and hey, what the hell, he could take the rest of the day off. April had been wanting to check out some bookstore in Hartford, so he could take her there. Then dinner with both his girls. It'd be the perfect end to a really awesome day.

He walked back into utter mayhem.

He came in through the back, so when he walked in from the storeroom, he was treated to the sight of the diner having turned into an impromptu session of a Stars Hollow town meeting, complete with Taylor going toe to toe with Gypsy right in front of the register.

In the middle of the chaos, April sat on a stool, hunched over her cell phone with an extremely guilty expression. She glanced over her shoulder, relief in her eyes as she spotted him.

"There you are!" she said as Luke worked his way through the squabbling residents of the insane place he called home to reach his daughter's side.

"What's all this?" he asked.

April gave Luke her most winning smile, which did nothing to hide her guilt. "Um … this might be my fault."

He winged an eyebrow. "How so?"

April absently played with her phone. "So, I forwarded the photos you sent me to Jess and Rory, and Rory said Andrew would probably like to see them and gave me his number. And when Andrew got them, Gypsy was standing there and saw them too, and she marched in here to confront Taylor and ask him what he was doing to protect them, and he started arguing over it with her, and somehow it's evolved into people lobbying to cancel the Fourth of July festival and fireworks so the eagle's nest isn't disturbed. Taylor's mad because if the festival is canceled, then town economy would suffer, and he was going on about some sort of construction he had scheduled. That's pretty much it." April sighed. "And you have a hickey."

Luke slapped the side of his neck and felt the heat from the reddened skin there.

She gave him a somewhat disgusted look. "Is there any time you and Lorelai aren't going at each other?"

"No," he replied, not particularly caring if he scarred her or not. After all, April was 22 and she had brought chaos into his diner. She deserved to sweat a little. He turned back to the crowded room. He had to end this before it became some sort of WWE match. "OK! If you're not eating or planning to eat or have already eaten and am waiting to pay, then get out!"

"This is important Stars Hollow business we're discussing here!" Taylor protested.

"In my diner," Luke bit out.

Taylor rolled his eyes skyward as if Luke was a small child and he had to be told things in very simple terms. "Yes, which is an appropriate venue because you were the one who found the eagle's nest, sparking the entire discussion."

That good mood he'd been cherishing for the past few hours? Completely gone. "For God's sake, that's not how that works, Taylor."

"Well, it is this time."

Luke gestured toward the window in the direction of Miss Patty's. "Have a town meeting! You can't sneeze without having one."

"There isn't one on the agenda until after the 4th because Patty is on her cruise, and we need to make a decision now," Taylor informed him.

"You do not need to make a decision at 1:46 in the afternoon," Luke retorted.

Taylor's chest puffed up. "Time is of the essence. As an established business owner, you should be spending more effort on these affairs that affects the entire town and less time sneaking off with Lorelai."

And there his last nerve was well and truly shot. "That's it. Everybody out!"

"None of this is funny," Luke barked to those who remained after the ones used to his temper fled, which included an indignant Taylor. April merely bit her lip and typed something on her phone.

Seconds later, his own phone buzzed with an incoming message from Jess.

 _Actually, this is the funniest thing I've experienced third-hand in months._

Luke glared at April. She shrugged and raised her water glass in a salute.

* * *

Over the next few days, the eagle's nest was confirmed along with the presence of an eaglet, and the debate started to grow over holding the fireworks by the side of the lake as had been tradition for years. Gypsy became the birds' biggest champion, contacting the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to see what to do about the nest. Their advice? Stay away, lest they risk driving the eagles off.

This threw the entire core of the town into an uproar. It never failed to amaze Luke that the actions of a few people in town got thousands in a tizzy, but he had learned the hard way that small-town drama and gossip was king in places like Stars Hollow. Throw baby animals into it, and you could give scripted TV shows a run for their money.

"Are you pro-Eagle or anti-Eagle?" Kirk asked, offering Luke a button as he tried to grab a few items from Doose's to tide him over until he could make a run to the Costco in Hartford.

"Kirk, I think the Philadelphia Eagles might have a problem with you ripping off their logo."

"Oh, so that explains the cease and desist letter," Kirk mused. Undeterred, he headed down the next aisle and handed pins to Lane and Zach's boys.

Later that day, Luke encountered Kirk again standing by the side of the lake, holding a megaphone.

"Move along now, people," Kirk said through it, causing his voice to be heard in Woodbridge. "We can't be disturbing the eagles. Step softly and don't chew gum. They can hear it."

Luke snatched the megaphone from Kirk and threw in the lake.

"I can still cup my hands!" Kirk called after him. He very nearly went back to toss Kirk in the lake along with the megaphone.

The next morning, Taylor called for an emergency town meeting and decided it would be held at the diner, a fact he gleefully informed Luke of when he happened to be weighed down with a load of dirty plates.

"You are _not_ holding this damn town meeting at my diner!" he informed Taylor and pushed his way into the kitchen to dump the armload in the sink.

"Well, where else are we going to hold it?" Taylor called after him. "We can't use the dance studio for another two weeks."

He pushed back out of the kitchen. "Use the school! We have two of them."

Taylor followed him around the room as he went to bus another table. "Both are undergoing renovations this summer. There's simply no room. The diner has the biggest gathering area in town outside of the schools and Miss Patty's. We can't fit into the Black, White, and Read, and it would be distasteful to have it on the square. We have to take action now before Woodbridge steps in and does something."

"Why the hell would Woodbridge do anything?"

"There is an eagle preservation group based out of there that has announced on Facebook that it intends to hold a protest in Stars Hollow unless we agree to address our Fourth of July celebrations. So, we must act now."

"That's rich. You were the one who was arguing with Gypsy that we shouldn't be catering to the eagles."

"Yes," Taylor acknowledged, "but I hate Woodbridge more. We can't allow Woodbridge to think that we would so callously turn our backs on the national symbol of America."

"You were about to throw that national symbol under the bus two minutes ago!"

Luke felt the familiar brand of headache he dubbed "Taylor" brewing behind his temples. "Fine! If it'll put an end to this, have the damn meeting here."

"Thank you," Taylor said stiffly. "You will, of course, be compensated for the use of your facilities."

Luke simply spun on his heel and stormed into the kitchen again.

* * *

A few days later, at some point close to sunset, he found himself back by the eagle nest. This time, he was armed with powerful binoculars and watched as the elder eagles fed what was most definitely a baby.

Luke lowered the binoculars, letting them dangle between his legs. He sat against a tree just off the main path and nearly out of sight. It provided a good view of the eagle's nest. In the distance, he saw several other townspeople trying to get their own view. Thankfully, Lulu had agreed to keep Kirk occupied so he wouldn't risk disturbing the eagles unintentionally.

"Sorry," Luke apologized in the direction of the tree, got to his feet, and headed to the Dragonfly.

There he found Lorelai in her office, staring miserably at her computer.

"What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly worried about things that had nothing to do with eagles. He knew she was concerned about her father, who had gone in not that long ago to have his arteries cleared once more. Thankfully this time it had been sans heart attack. But it felt like they were biding their time before something else happened.

"It's the eagles," she admitted, and Luke wanted to bang his head against the wall. But she looked so sad that he took the seat across from her.

"Taylor's right," she said, and he gaped at her. She shrugged. "If we cancel the festival, we lose a lot of business. We're finally booked solid again for the first time since the economy tanked a few years ago, and people are coming here specifically for the festival and the fireworks show. If that's cancelled, most of these reservations go away."

Guilt twisted in him. Of course. She was right. She was on his side regarding keeping the eagles safe, that he knew down to his bones. Plus, he could see one of Kirk's illegal Eagles buttons pinned to her purse. But Luke knew how much the Dragonfly had struggled while the economy regained its footing. Everyone had to eat, so the diner made it through the depression OK. But the Dragonfly had had some hairy moments, and there were times he had come home to find Lorelai scrambling to find every penny she could to keep the doors open. It had led to some fights between them when he offered to help again, and she turned it down.

But she had persisted, and the Dragonfly not only remained open but solvent the entire time. He was proud of her.

If those reservations went away, it would hurt her bottom line to the point that she would be struggling to pay her employees. There would most definitely be layoffs. Her plans to reintroduce the horses she'd been forced to sell a few years earlier would be halted, as well as Sookie's planned sabbatical that she was planning to leave on in a couple of weeks. The Dragonfly was fronting part of the money Sookie needed for her sojourn upstate, and Lorelai needed to hire a temporary head chef as well. He'd already volunteered to take on a few shifts in the interim.

What a damn mess.

* * *

Luke really hoped the state of Connecticut didn't decide to drop by to do a spot check on his occupancy limit, because there were so many people packed into the diner for the town meeting that he was worried they'd start spilling out the front door like a clown car.

He was comfortable standing in the back behind the counter, Lorelai and April having both dragged stools behind it to be with him. It was the least-crowded area of the room because they were the only people he allowed behind the counter, despite Kirk's best efforts.

Taylor quickly called the meeting to order and brought up Gypsy's motion to cancel the festival and fireworks to prevent the eagles from fleeing their nest. "We can all agree that the economic impact on this town will negatively affect all of us," he said.

"Yeah, but what about good will?" Andrew demanded.

"Good will doesn't keep businesses open, does it, Andrew?" Taylor replied. "Now, let's all get this measure out of the way so we can turn our attention to the real problems in this town, and that's getting rid of the phone booth that's become an eyesore to the community. And may I remind you the septic tank surveys are due at the end of August."

"Oh, come on, Taylor!" Gypsy called out. "What'd you have against baby eagles?"

"I have nothing against baby eagles," Taylor said with a sniff. "I'm just saying that it would be in their best interests to let them migrate should they deem it necessary. If it happens to coincide with one of our town festivals, who am I not to let nature take its course?"

Right. And he was Superman. "What's the real reason, Taylor?" Luke called out. Taylor glared at him, but quite frankly, he didn't get a rat's ass. If Taylor didn't want that line of questioning, he shouldn't had taken over the diner. Besides, under any other circumstance, Taylor would be the first one to demand protection for the eagles. Something fishy was going on.

Taylor huffed for a moment. "Well, if you all must know I have construction scheduled in my back yard to build a new gazebo that pays homage to the one on the town square, and if I cancel the work, I won't be able to reschedule until November 2016!"

"Seventeen months in the future?" Babette asked.

"They are in high demand," Taylor told her.

"Oh, that's a stupid reason and we all know it." Gypsy leaped to her feet and faced the crowd. "All in favor of canceling the festival and fireworks to save the eagles?"

Most of the hands in the room shot up. Luke's gaze slid to Lorelai, who sat biting her lip. Finally, she sighed and put up her hand. He put his up alongside hers. April had waved her hand from the start. The only one to vote against it was Taylor. Not that anyone was particularly shocked by this development.

As the meeting cleared out, he did his absolute best to gently urge people to depart as soon as possible. In other words, meeting's done, everyone go home, he barked to the room at large. He was tired, he was going to have to be up in about eight hours, and he was worried about Lorelai.

"Do you have a moment?" Kirk asked as Luke all but shoved him out the door.

"Not now."

"But it's really important." Kirk stood on the top step just outside the diner and pushed his bottom lip out in that slight pout that made Luke groan. "I wanted to get your opinion about something."

"It can't wait until morning?"

"Time is of the essence," Kirk said gravely.

Luke sighed and gave in. Kirk was never going to leave otherwise. He leaned against the doorway. "Fine, what is it?"

"Lulu and I are thinking of having a baby."

Normally, his poker face served him well. Not today. " _What?_ "

"Lulu and I have been discussing starting a family, and tonight is optimal because she will be at the most fertile point of her cycle. So, I was wondering if you had any advice on creating children, since you have April. I have it noted that you are successful when it comes to fertilization."

Luke was sure his jaw was somewhere near the tropics. His mouth snapped shut. Opened again. Couldn't even begin to form coherent words. Then he slammed the door in Kirk's face.

God, he needed a beer and quite possibly a lobotomy.

* * *

He had the beer, but sadly the lobotomy wasn't going to happen. Neither, apparently, was sleep.

Luke turned onto his side. Lorelai sat up on her end of the bed, hunched over a legal pad, the lamp next to her on a dim setting. Occasionally, she grabbed her phone to look up something on the mobile browser. It usually wasn't enough to keep him from falling asleep. Worry over her and the Dragonfly was far better at inducing insomnia.

He hated to see her like this, when she wasn't making his head spin as she purposefully yanked his chain. Yes, dirty in every sense. Some of the conversations he'd had in this house were the most insane he ever had, and deep down he loved every second of it. He would take Lorelai chasing after him playing Gangam Style on her phone over the stress lining her eyes any day of the week.

"Any luck?" he whispered.

Lorelai shoved her glasses onto her forehead. "There's quite a few bird-watching groups out there that we can contact about coming to see the eagles, but a lot of these trips are pre-planned months out. Granted, we can sell them on the fact that this is a baby."

Luke rubbed her leg as she kneaded her temples. She leaned down to kiss him, and he deepened the kiss until the awkward angle forced them to break apart. But she was smiling, and the knot in his gut loosened just a bit.

A knock sounded moments before April stuck her head around the partially opened door. "Hey, I've got an idea."

"What's that, kid?" Lorelai asked.

April pushed the door open and plopped onto the end of the bed, folding her legs beneath her as Luke pushed into a sitting position. She had her phone in hand, Amazon app open and displaying a list of products. "Maybe I can install a webcam. All I have to do is shimmy up a nearby tree. There's a bunch here we can look at."

"No," Luke told her.

"Oh come on, Dad, I can climb a tree."

"The cast you wore for six weeks when you were 15 says otherwise."

April rolled her eyes. "That was a fluke, and Kirk scared me when he decided to go racing through the town square clucking like a chicken at the top of his lungs. Besides, he didn't know I was in the tree when he started to shake it."

"It's a good idea, but we want people to actually come see the eagles, not watch them on their computers," Lorelai told her. She plucked the glasses off her head and set them on her nightstand.

April shrugged. "What if I led a tour group?"

"You're flying back out to New Mexico in a couple of days," Luke said.

"Don't remind me," April groaned.

"It was actually at the top of my list." Lorelai turned the legal pad she was scribbling on to show April her ideas. "But, I know exactly who can lead the group in your stead."

* * *

"No," Michel said as Lorelai spoke to him over FaceTime from the kitchen the next morning. It was his day off, and she decided it was best to keep him in the loop since they would need to move fast. "I am not doing it."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not," Michel repeated.

"Michel."

"I cannot do it. Too much sun is bad for my complexion. Have you not watched these tours on YouTube? They wear shorts. I cannot wear shorts. My knees are far too knobby."

"Look. We have already had five cancelations for the Fourth of July holiday, and only by the skin of my teeth did I save the rest. If we don't start giving these tour groups, we're not going to be able to do things like pay our employees. Yes," she said when Michel opened his mouth to object, "we have the emergency account. But I'm not going to touch that unless we're in danger of having the lights be shut off. If we don't fill these rooms, I'll have to dismiss both bellhops and half the dining room staff, and Sookie won't be able to leave on her sabbatical. Which would you rather do? Lead a tour group, be a bellhop, serve dinner, or face a pissed-off Sookie?"

Michel just glared at her. "I'll find some shorts."

* * *

It was the quietest holiday Stars Hollow ever celebrated.

Not that Luke minded.

The story drew national attention, and April had recorded Michel's first bird-watching tour and put it on YouTube before heading to New Mexico to see her mother. Both the press and the viral video not only enabled April to get the webcam she wanted (placed safely by one of the bird-watching groups), but it kept the Dragonfly solidly booked. The first available opening was in October, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As the sun set on the Fourth of July, Luke and Lorelai sat together on a blanket under one of the trees and took turns looking at the eagle's nest through binoculars.

"This is nice," Lorelai said with a happy sigh and a sip at her coffee. "I mean, I want fireworks and fried food, but this is nice."

"Just wait a couple days. This town sneezes and it holds a festival," Luke told her.

"True. There's the Midsummer Mambo, the Pre-Harvest Hop, the Harvest Festival, the Apple Festival, the Quilting Jamboree, and that's all before the end of August." Lorelai ticked them off on her fingers. "You know, once Taylor was able to rebook that construction work for March, he mentioned about holding a festival in honor of the eagles."

Luke groaned and let his head drop to his raised knees.

"I think if we do it, we should invite _The_ Eagles to perform," Lorelai suggested.

He turned his head just so he could roll his eyes at her. "Oh, come on, if you're gonna invite one of the greats from the 70s, it has to be Steely Dan."

She pushed at his leg. " _Desperado. Tequila Sunrise. Hotel California._ "

" _Peg. Do It Again. Hey Nineteen,"_ he retorted.

"You like the Eagles," Lorelai objected. "I know their music's on your phone."

"I never said I didn't. It's just not the same without the original band members" Luke wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "This town's not gonna have a festival for the eagles: animal or band."

"Oh, babe. I love it when you're in denial." She laid her head on his shoulder, and he absently played with her curls as they enjoyed the stillness.


End file.
